Leyconn Electronic's 55207 model has glass-filled insulator and gold flash plating.

Suppliers are releasing more units with gold plating and designed to withstand heat and water. Easy-to-install types are also on the rise.

Longer operating life and greater product safety are the R&D themes in China’s phone socket manufacturing industry.

While makers are not emphasizing development efforts in this highly mature line, they continue to improve quality to boost competitiveness and secure more orders.

Gold plating is widely adopted in line with the first objective. To enhance safety, many are rolling out heat- and water-resistant models. Releases for mounting on the wall come with one or two screws for easier installation. Some products feature a thickness of only 0.5cm. Suppliers are likewise strengthening their customization capability. Many can tailor-make phone sockets to buyers’ material, shape, color and size requirements.

OEM and ODM projects collectively account for 60 percent of enterprises’ business, even reaching 90 percent in some cases.

Leyconn Electronic Co. Ltd mainly designs phone sockets according to clients’ specifications. Its current R&D focus is on small version targeted at laptops.

China makers’ efforts to maintain their price advantage over counterparts from other regions center on reducing outlay to maintain current quotes.

Most suppliers are raising overall production efficiency to achieve economies of scale. More are implementing full automation.

Many companies have shortened the sampling period to less than one week and cancelled minimum order requirements to grab orders.

All these initiatives are expected to fuel sales further. The industry’s aggregate revenue has climbed steadily by 5 to 10 percent in the past two years, recovering from the slump brought about by the 2008 economic crisis. Household and office applications are the key user segments, and are expected to continue sustaining demand.

Up to 50 percent of the country’s total output is exported to Southeast and East Asia, North America and Europe.

At present, there are 300 to 400 phone socket suppliers in the country, mostly found in Guangdong and Zhejiang provinces.

About 100 makers are located in Shenzhen in the former, and in Wenzhou in Zhejiang. These companies take advantage of the robust economy, industry support and convenient transportation system in these key cities.

More than 80 percent of phone socket enterprises in China are locally owned, and the rest are foreign-invested. Multinational manufacturers such as Siemens have established facilities in the country.

RJ-11 phone sockets abound

China makers offer RJ-11 models with 4P2C, 4P4C, 6P2C, 6P4C, 6P6C and 8P8C configurations. These types use UL94V-0-rated glass-filled, PBT or ABS for insulation. Phosphor bronze is the main contact material.

Low-end products have gold flash plating. Midrange versions adopt 5 or 15μ gold plating, and upscale ones 30μ.

Phone sockets from China come in black, white, gray or beige. Companies can customize colors on request.

Makers ensure products meet CE, UL, TÜV and RoHS requirements. The main materials for manufacture are plastic, copper and gold. With costs of the last two still on the upswing, suppliers implemented a markup of 5 to 10 percent in recent months.

Many, however, are optimistic prices will stabilize or even decrease as input rates become steady or drop.

Related report:
Phone jacks: Jack and socket R&D shifting to SMD variants

Product gallery

Astron Technology Corp.
(Taiwan)

Model: E3518AD-XXX-R
Description: High-temperature UL94V-0-rated plastic; for mobile devices, portable audio players; black; OEM/ODM orders accepted

Ruiher Electronic & Electric Co. Ltd
(mainland China)

Model: RH-1
Delivery: 10 days
Description: LED indicator; 0.5cm thick

Wenzhou Elite International Co. Ltd
(mainland China)

Model: VP4380J
Delivery: 10 days
Description: Stainless steel plate; brushed gold; 86x86mm; CE, RoHS